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Re: 27, married and semi-obsessed with retiring early
Old 12-03-2005, 12:09 PM   #12
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 2,191
To summarize what other people have said, the "correct" financial choice is easy. Compare the after-tax cost of your mortgage versus the expected after-tax return of your investments and put money toward whichever is higher.

Some other considerations:
1) Non-deductible debt that carries a higher interest rate than your mortgage should be the first target.

2) Keep in mind that you know for certain the return you are getting by paying down the mortgage whereas your portfolio returns are unknown - if it's a close call I'd choose paying down the mortgage.

3) Financial flexibility is extremely important and should be your first consideration. Make sure you have enough liquid savings to last you a few months in the event you find yourself out of work. Some people have taken out home equity lines of credit for this purpose - that is not my personal choice, but it's what others here have done.


The feeling of being debt free is great. But I think you will find that the psychological benefit of a large portfolio is equally great. I think you will find that carrying a mortgage is less of a burden when you know you have the financial resources to pay it off. For this reason I would choose the path that makes the most financial sense, and the warm fuzzy feeling will follow.
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